DISTRICT V
As has been previously noted, many West Virginia counties boast impressive harvests (not because they have plenty of deer) because they sprawl over a large expanse of land. Such is not the case with Mason County. Mason annually ranks high in the top 10 bowhunting harvest chart because, well, it has plenty of deer.

District V, which encompasses much of the western part of the state, contains a few counties that feature impressive deer herds. Mason, as is typical, led the region last year and was fifth in the state with 762. Add in the 2005 harvest of 780 and the two-year tally of 1,542 is most impressive.

Mason is typical of many of the counties that lie within the Ohio River drainage. Corn fields exist in places, as do soybean fields. Small orchards periodically dot the landscape, as well as fallow fields, brushy regenerating clear cuts, open fields, and bottomland forests. This type of habitat is conducive to growing large-bodied deer, as well as solid numbers of whitetails.

Mason offers two major public lands, both of which are not secrets to readers of this magazine and to the general populace, which means they can and do receive considerable hunting pressure. The larger of the two is the Chief Cornstalk WMA (11,722 acres), which features gently rolling real estate so characteristic of the county. About 85 percent of Cornstalk is wooded acreage.

The second WMA is the even better known McClintic (3,655 acres), which attracts not only bowhunters in October but small-game enthusiasts and fishermen (31 ponds dot the landscape) as well.

The second place county over the past two years was Kanawha. With harvests of 566 and 574 in 2005 and 2006, respectively, Kanawha has become a regular runner-up to Mason. However, this county in no way can compete with Mason concerning the number of whitetails per square mile of habitat. Of course, for that matter, few counties in the state can.

Kanawha contains a major state forest, the aptly named Kanawha (9,250 acres). The public land is not known for its large deer herd, though it does produce some fair to good sized bucks every year.

DISTRICT VI
District VI, which covers north- central West Virginia, features several counties that typically rank in the top 20 or so. And certainly one of the most consistent producers is Jackson, which outdistanced the field over the past two years with tallies of 630 in 2005 and 517 in 2006 for a total of 1,147.

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of hunting in Jackson County for two straight days. During that time, I saw well over two dozen deer, and only incompetence on my part kept me from tagging one of them. Jackson contains numerous farms and wood lots with the occasional field, regenerating timberland, rolling countryside and creek bottom mixed in. Jackson is a great example of a mid- sized county that contains good numbers of whitetails.

This county has a reputation for having plenty of antlerless whitetails, and is the type of domain where one should stay on stand all day if he is looking to tag a doe. A great stand site is the classic hardwood dominated wood lot that borders an opening of some kind.

One of the largest public lands in Jackson is not very large, typical of the smaller WMAs that exist in this part of the state. That public land is the 2,735-acre Frozen Camp WMA, which offers habitat similar to the rest of the county: hills, coves and the odd small stream.

The second place finisher over the past two years was Wood County, which registered harvests of 593 in 2005 and 482 in 2006 for a total of 1,075. Wood features habitat similar to its sister District VI county of Mason. Wrangle an invitation to hunt a farm in this county, and you stand a good chance of taking home some future tenderloin cuts.

Wood does not have a large enough public land to be mentioned or profiled in a magazine, so readers would be better served by knocking on farmhouse doors. August is a good time to start doing so, as I try to have all my permission slips signed by early September in the farms I frequent in southern West Virginia.

Bowhunting is the most intense outdoor pursuit that I participate in. Preparing for the upcoming season can consist of scanning the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources' Web site (www.wvdnr.gov), researching public-land possibilities nearby, engaging in extensive target practice, talking to best hunting buddies, calling and visiting farms, and scouting both public and private land. I hope that this article offers a few tips on where to go as well. After all, the second Saturday of October is not that far away.